Red-necked Grebe and Least Sandpiper

My birding total for my Big Year is up to 107 species.  Over the summer, my numbers of new species have leveled off a bit, but the autumn migration is only weeks away.  I already have some birding trips lined up for that time, including one where I travel everywhere from the Gunflint Trail to Hawk Ridge in Duluth, to the headwaters of the Mississippi, and to the prairie preserves of far western Minnesota.  At this time, I am learning as much as I can about the species I am hoping to find; reading books, listening to calls, and watching documentaries.

Last week, I watched some documentaries on the Prairie Chicken, and a great documentary on the intelligence of crows called Murder of Crows.  This week, I am watching wonderful BBC mini-series documentary called The Life of Birds hosted by David Attenborough.  I also checked out a documentary on the Snowy Owl from our local library.

These are the two late July additions to my Big Year List
106 - Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) - Gunflint Lake, MN

107 - Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) - Grand Marais Harbor, MN

I also took a video of the Least Sandpiper.  It is located at https://vimeo.com/228618451.

There are some other birding pictures I have taken in the last few weeks below:

Canada Geese at Sunset with Sawtooth Mountains

Canada Geese in Grand Marais Harbor at Sunset

This Herring Gull is showing how well the fake owls scare away birds and other animals.  If I had my camera with me a few days ago, I could have also had a great picture of a Red Squirrel sitting on the head of the fake owl in my garden.  I learned long ago that the trick doesn't work, and the owl in my garden has become more of a decoration.